G4TV

In "State of Emergency" a riot has broken out in a fictional city of the near future. Your job is to help lead the budding revolution against the oppressive Corporate police state that has long denied the people their freedom. This week on "X-Play" we tell you how the newest version of "State of Emergency" stacks up for the Xbox.

Revolution, chaos, and my buddies

"State of Emergency" is a beat 'em up. However, it forgoes the standard level progression in favor of a more open-ended approach. Instead of battling through a level, fighting a boss, and repeating until you reach the final battle, "State of Emergency" sends you scrambling through four sections of a major city in an effort to smash the Corporation and its foot soldiers.

In revolution mode you must complete many missions in order to progress to the next city area. Sadly, most missions consist of mind-numbing escort, seek-and-destroy, and fetch quests. And because there are many missions in each stage, you'll spend several hours running around doing the same things over and over and over again.

Chaos mode is an arcade-style free-for-all that sends you into the streets with no goals beyond destruction, mayhem, and a high score. A timer counts down as an arrow guides you through various randomly generated objectives, such as blowing up a particular building or beating down an elite Corporation task force. Successfully completing an objective or grabbing time bonuses from defeated corporate thugs will extend your playtime. Chaos mode works far better, mainly because you have more access to heavier weapons.

New to the Xbox version is a split-screen multiplayer mode. Up to four would-be revolutionaries can now play together or against each other in chaos mode and last clone standing mode, a race to see who can kill the most clones. You can also play team-based death matches or enjoy a free-for-all. Also, a survivor mode lets your gang play until there's only one player left. These modes are a welcome addition to the original game.

Power me up

Power-ups are another new feature. You can receive temporary armor that reduces how much damage your character receives. There's also an unlimited ammo power-up and an exciting one-punch decapitator power-up. Coolest of all is the helper power-up, which creates another revolutionary that will follow you around the level, punching the lights out of your enemies. And, yes, helpers also make an appearance in the new multiplayer modes.

Graphics: A technical achievement

The game looks like a cartoon, but the art style works well. There's an impressive number of characters moving around on-screen at any moment. You can see 100 or 200 people sprinting around with no slowdown. Regardless of its other failings, "State of Emergency" is a stunning technical achievement.

Gameplay: Nothing more than kick and punch

The game's biggest flaw is its shallow gameplay. The characters' punches, kicks, and grabs all do the same thing. Combos are practically nonexistent. Melee weapons do little more than cause quicker knockouts, and firearms make you all but unstoppable. Rounding out your moves is a spin attack that'll knock down anyone around you, giving you a way out of tight spots. This is all there is to gameplay. After five minutes of punching and kicking, you've done all the fighting you'll ever do in "State of Emergency."

Camera: Still uncooperative
The camera seems bent on helping the Corporation kill you. The L1 button snaps the camera behind the character's back, but the action is so frenetic, your character will rarely face the same direction for more than a few seconds at a time. It's a sticky issue, but the camera is still well below average.

Summary: Slightly improved

Most everything in "State of Emergency" has been done before. There's not nearly enough depth or substance to make this game a must-have title. We give "State of Emergency" a "rent me first" three out of five stars.